The Chevalier De Maison Rouge (28 page)

ought not to stop here ; it is necessary that the flower-

girl should be discovered."

" The flower-girl is far away, but be perfectly easy on that point ; she will be sought after. As . for you, watch

your friends, while I guard the prison correspondence."

No one had thought of Simon, but he had formed his

own project. He arrived toward the conclusion of the

sitting, and learned the decision of the Commune.

"Ah ! then it only requires a regular denunciation,"

said he, " to settle this affair. Wait five minutes, and I will bring it to you."

" Who is it ? " said the president.

" It is," said Simon, "the courageous Citoyenne Tison who denounces the secret practises of that partisan of

aristocracy, Maurice, and the intrigues of another equally

false patriot, one of his friends, named Louis."

" Take care, take care, Simon ; your zeal for the nation perhaps misleads you. Maurice and Louis are tried and

proved patriots.''

" That will be seen at the tribunal," replied Simon.

" Consider well, Simon ; this will be a disgraceful proceeding for all true patriots."

" Disgraceful or not, what difference will that make to me ? Do I dread disgrace ? They shall, at least, learn

all the truth concerning those who wish to betray them."

" Then you persist in a denunciation in the name of the woman Tison ?"

' I will denounce myself, even this very night, to the

Cordeliers, and you among the rest, Citizen President, if

you are still unwilling to command the arrest of the

traitor Maurice."

" Well, let it be so," said the president, who. according to custom in these miserable times, trembled before those

who clamored the loudest, "they shall be arrested."

While this decision was forming against him, Maurice

had returned to the Temple, where the following billet

awaited him :

184 THE CHEVALIER DE MAISON ROUGE.

" Our guard being violently broken up, I shall not be

able, in all probability, to see you before to-morrow morning.

Come, then, and breakfast with me ; during that meal you

shall give me a true and particular account of the plots and conspiracies discovered by Simon.

" Yours, faithfully, Louis."

Maurice replied :

"There is nothing new, so sleep in peace to-night and

breakfast without me to-morrow, as on reviewing the in-

cidents of the day, I find I shall not, in all probability, be able to leave till noon.

" Yours, faithfully, MAURICE.

" P.S. As to the rest, I believe the conspiracy was only a false alarm, after all."

Lonis had, indeed, left at one o'clock, with the whole

of his battalion, thanks to the brutal conduct of the shoe-

maker ; he, however, consoled himself with a quatrain,

and went to visit Arthemise. Arthemise was delighted to

see Louis. The weather, as we have said, was magnificent ;

she therefore proposed a walk along the quay, to which

Louis, of course, assented. They had walked some dis-

tance, discoursing on politics, Louis recounting his expul-

sion from the Temple, and vainly endeavoring to divine

the cause, when, on reaching the height of La Rue des

Barres, they perceived a flower-girl, who, like themselves, remounted the bank to the right of the Seine.

"Ah! Citizen Louis," said Arthemise, "I hope you are going to present me with a bouquet ?"

" Two, if you wish it," said Louis; and they both redoubled their speed to overtake the flower-girl, who

walked at a rapid pace. On arriving at the bridge Marie,

the young girl, stopped, and stooping under the parapet,

emptied the contents of her basket into the river. The

flowers separated, whirled round for an instant in the air, while the bouquets, dragged down by their own weight,

fell more quickly, till at last both flowers and bouquets

THE CHEVALIER DE MAISON ROUGE. 185

floated upon . the surface, following the course of the

water.

" Stop ! " said Arthemise, regarding the flower-girl thus strangely occupied ; " it is said but yes but no but if ah ! this is strange ! "

The flower-girl placed her finger on her lips, as if to

entreat her silence, and disappeared.

" Who is this, then ? " said Louis. " Do you know this mortal goddess ? "

"No ; I fancied at first but certainly I ana deceived."

" She, however, made a sign to you, "persisted Louis.

" But why is she a flower-girl this morning ? " said Arthemise to herself.

'-' You acknowledge, then, that you know her, Arthe-

mise ? " said Louis.

" Yes," replied Arthemise ; " she is a flower-girl I sometimes deal with."

" At all events," said Louis, " she has a strange method of disposing of her merchandise."

And both, after having looked for the last time at the

flowers which, already arrived at the wooden bridge, had

received a fresh impetus from the arm of the river which

passed under its arches, continued their route toward the

Rupee, where they anticipated dining tetc-a-fe/c. This in-

cident was forgotten for the moment, but as it was at least singular, and of rather a mysterious character, it vividly

impressed Louis' poetical imagination. In the meantime,

the denudation brought by Tison's wife against Maurice

and Louis caused a great tumult at the club of the Jacob-

ins ; and Maurice was informed at the Temple by the

Commune that his safety was endangered by the public

indignation. This was a recommendation to the young

municipal to conceal himself if lie were guilty; but with

conscious rectitude Maurice remained at the Temple,

where he was found at his post when they came to arrest

him. At the same time, Maurice was interrogated. Ee-

maining firm in his resolution not to endanger the safety

of his friends, in whom he felt the most implicit confidence, Maurice yet was not the man to sacrifice himself by a ridic-186 THE CHEVALIER DE MAISON ROUGE.

ulous silence worthy of a hero of romance, and therefore

demanded the flower-girl should be tried. It was five

o'clock in the afternoon when Louis returned home and

heard, at the same moment, of the arrest of Maurice, and

also the demand made by him. The flower-girl of the

bridge Marie instantly recurred to his mind like a sudden

revelation. This singular individual casting her flowers

into the Seine ; the coincidence of quarters ; the half ad-

mission of Arthemise ; all these facts combined instinc-

tively convinced him this was the solution of the mystery

demanded by Maurice. He bounded from his chamber,

flew rather than ran down four flights of stairs, and precipitated himself into the presence of the Goddess Reason,

who was engaged in embroidering golden stars on a robe

of azure blue, It was her robe of divinity.

" A truce to the stars, chere amie," said Louis ; "they have arrested Maurice, and in all human probability before evening I shall share the same fate."

" Maurice arrested ! "

" Mon Dieu I yes. In these times nothing is more

common than the recurrence of these events ; but they

excite little attention, because they come in troops, that

is all. Almost all great events originate in trifles. Never neglect trifles. Who was that flower-girl we met this

morning, chere amie 9 "

Arthemise started.

"What flower-girl ?"

" The one who so recklessly cast her flowers into the

Seine."

"Ah! man Dieu!" said Arthemise, "is this circum-gtance, then, so serious that you return to urge me on

that point ? "

" So serious, chere amie, that I entreat you to answer my question without loss of time."

" Mon ami, I cannot do so."

" Goddess, with you nothing is impossible."

" I am in honor bound to keep silence."

" And I am bound in honor to make you speak."

" But why do you insist upon it thus ? "

THE CHEVALIER DE MAISON ROUGE. 187

" Why ? Corbleu f that Maurice may not have his

throat cut."

" MonDieu ! Maurice guillotined ?" cried the young woman, much alarmed.

" Unless you speak ; indeed, unless you dare to reply

while my head still remains upon my shoulders/'

" Ah ! No, no," said Arthemise ; "it would be utter ruin."

At this moment Louis' official rushed into the apart-

ment.

" Ah, citizen I " cried he, "save yourself ! save yourself ! "

' ' And why ? " demanded Louis.

" Because the gendarmes have arrived, and while they

were forcing an entrance, I gained the next house by the

roof, and hastened to prevent your return."

Arthemise uttered a heartrending cry, for she truly

loved Louis.

"Arthemise," said Louis, "do you really place the life of a flower-girl in comparison with that of Maurice

and of your lover ? If it is so, I declare to you that I no longer regard you as the Goddess Keason, but shall proclaim you the Goddess Folly."

"Poor Heloise!" exclaimed the ex-danseuse of the

Opera ; " if I betray you, it is not my fault."

" Well, well, chere amie," said Louis, presenting a paper to Arthemise, " you have already favored me with her

Christian name ; oblige me now with her surname and

address."

"Oh! write it, never, never!" cried Arthemise; "I would rather tell you."

" Tell me, then, and rest assured I will not forget."

And Arthemise, in an agitated voice, gave the name

and address of the false flower-girl to Louis. " She is called Heloise Tison, and lives in the Rue des Nouan-didres, No. 24."

At this name, Louis uttered an exclamation, and fled.

He had not reached the corner of the street, when a letter

was delivered to Arthemise. It only contained three lines.

188 THE CHEVALIER DE MAISON ROUGE.

" Not a word concerning me, dear friend ; the revela-

tion of my name would infallibly ruin me. Wait till to-

morrow. I quit Paris this night. Thine,

"HELOI8E."

" Oh, mon Dieu ! " cried the future goddess, " if I could only have divined this, I would have waited till tomorrow ; " and she glanced from the window to recall

Louis, if there was yet time, but he had disappeared.

CHAPTER XXIV.

THE MOTHER AND DAUGHTER.

have already said that in a few hours the news of

this event had circulated through Paris. In short, there

were at this epoch various indiscretions easy to compre-

hend on the part of a government of which the political

schemes were concocted and unraveled in the street.

This rumor gradually gained ground, till it at length

reached the Old Rue St. Jacques, and two hours after the

arrest of Maurice they heard of his detention. Thanks to

the activity of Simon, the details of the plot were quickly reported beyond the Temple ; but, as of course every one

added to the original, the news arrived in an unintelligi-

ble form at the master tanner's. One said a poisoned

flower had been conveyed to the queen, by means of

which the Austrian would stupefy her guards, and thus

be enabled to escape from the Temple ; others said the

report originated from certain suspicions entertained of

the fidelity of the battalion dismissed by Santerre on the

preceding evening. Already more victims were desig-

nated for the hatred of the people.

But the inhabitants of the Old Rue St. Jacques were

not, of course, deceived as to the real nature of this

event, and Morand on one side, Dixmer on the other,

went out immediately, leaving Oenevieve a victim to the

most violent despair. If this misfortune had befallen

THE CHEVALIER DE MAISON ROUGE. ] 89

Maurice, it was she who had been the sole cause of it. It

was her hand that conducted this young man blindfold

to the entrance of the dungeon which now inclosed him,

and which, in all human probability, he would quit only

for the scaffold. But, under any circumstances, Maurice

should not lose his head on account of his devotion to

her wishes. If Maurice were condemned, she would ac-

cuse herself before the tribunal, and would then confess

all. She would take all the responsibility upon herself,

to feel assured that, at the expense of her life, she might save Maurice. And Genevie"ve, instead of feeling any

fear of death, experienced, on the contrary, almost a de-

gree of happiness at the idea of dying for Maurice.

On quitting the house, Dixmer and Morand separated,

the former took the road to La Rue de la Corderie, the

latter hastened to La Rue des Xonandieres. Arriving at

the end of the bridge Marie, Morand perceived a crowd of

idlers and common people, at that time stationed at Paris,

had congregated at the scene of the late event, as crows

assemble on the field of battle. At this sight Morand

stopped short, a universal tremor shook his frame, and he

leaned for support against the parapet. At length, after

a few seconds, he regained the almost miraculous power

which, under trying circumstances, he exercised over his

feelings, and mingling with the various groups, com-

menced his inquiries, and learned that a short time before

they had taken from La Rue des Nonandie'res, 24, a

young woman, most certainly guilty of the crime of which

she stood then accused, as they surprised her while oc-

cupied in forming these packets. Morand inquired be-

fore what club the poor girl would be interrogated, and